November

When his cold would go away in five days, Jay would blame Adam for getting him sick. In reality, it was the little boy Jay had carried out of the shed after he'd been missing for 35 hours because he'd sneezed in the truck and it happened to spread his germs to his coffee cup in addition to just breathing on him as he cried.

Until then, he was sick and let everyone know it.

"You have to leave!" Kim finally snapped after he sneezed for the umpteenth time that day, "I can't take it. Go."

Hailey smirked to herself and slid down in her seat.

She knew he was annoying when he was sick. Yes, it got on her nerves, but she dealt with it even when it made her consider breaking up with him.

"I'm sick," Jay croaked, "Leave me alone."

"Nope, no, you're out of here," Kim said, "Leave. I will even drive you myself."

"Why are you so rude?" Jay asked, "You're annoying."

"I'm annoying?" Kim stood and leaned against her desk, "Jay Halstead-"

"Okay, okay," Hailey got out of her chair and put her hands up, "I'll take him home."

"I have a lot of work to do," Jay said.

"No, come on, you're going to get everyone else sick," Hailey walked around their desks and tugged his coat from the back of his chair, "Let's go."

"Thank god," Kim whispered and sat down.

Jay glared at her, but still stood and grabbed his coat from Hailey, "Fine."

Hailey let out a breath and set her hand on his back to lead him down to the truck. Just as Jay was pulling his keys from his pocket, Hailey grabbed them and unlocked the car.

Jay stopped in his tracks, "I can drive."

"I've got it," Hailey nodded toward the passenger door, "Get in."

"I'm fine, Hailey," Jay said before turning and coughing into his arm.

"Yeah," Hailey lightly pushed him toward the car then got in the driver's side. "You're gross is what you are," she mumbled as she started the engine.

Jay groaned while stepping into the truck, "Hailey-"

"No talking," Hailey started driving, "Your voice is getting all scratchy, it's gotta hurt."

"It does, but-"

"Hey," Hailey reached over and patted his leg, "Zip it."

Jay shook his head and stared out the window as Hailey drove home.

Inside the house, Hailey all but pushed Jay up the stairs to their room.

"Bed," she pointed, "Let's go. Jeans off. You're done."

Jay rolled his eyes, but did as she said and got under the covers, turning on his side to watch her change into a pair of sweatpants and one of his hoodies. She then walked to the bed with a sweatshirt for him and helped him pull his t-shirt off to put it on.

"Thanks," Jay mumbled.

"Yeah," Hailey rested her hand on his forehead, "You're warm. Lay down with me."

Jay wiped his nose before letting out a breath and laying down. He tried pulling Hailey against him, but instead she slipped out of his grip and slid up on the bed to hold his head gently to her chest.

"Hit you like a bus, huh?" Hailey whispered.

"What if I get you sick?" Jay asked.

"Then you get me sick," Hailey ran her fingers through her hair, "You need to sleep it off. I'll make you soup, sound good?"

"I want you to stay here," Jay said.

Hailey smiled, "I'll stay here, but then you need food in you – actual food, Jay. I know you've only been drinking hot chocolate and coffee for the past twenty-four hours."

Jay sighed and rolled away from her onto his back, "It's the only thing that tastes good and it makes my throat feel better."

Hailey laughed softly, "That's why we'll try soup and even jello. Now come back here and go to sleep."

"Can't I hold you?" Jay asked with a small smile.

"And breathe all your gross air in my face?" Hailey teased, "No, I'm holding you. I'm going to try to avoid getting sick at all costs. Someone needs to take care of your sick ass."

"Stop," Jay chuckled and lightly pushed her away from him, "I can take care of myself, done it for a while now."

Hailey tilted her head slightly to the side, keeping the smile on her face, but seeing through his act. She slowly nodded, "That may be, but you're not alone anymore, not even close to it. You know, in sickness and in health actually meant something to me when I said it. We were there for each other when we were friends, when we were dating, and now we're married. So what do you say? Can you swallow your pride and let your wife take care of you?"

Jay smiled a little and nodded.

"Great," Hailey pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. She paused then did it again.

"What?" Jay looked up at her.

"Just…" Hailey trailed off in a soft laugh and then kissed his warm skin for the third time, "My mom used to kiss us like that when we'd claim we were sick, it'd be the only time she'd do it, but she'd say it was the only way she could tell if we were telling the truth because her lips were the best way to tell our temperature."

"That's a mom thing," Jay nodded, "Because mine would do the exact same thing."

"Did you used to lie a lot to get out of school?" Hailey smiled.

Jay laughed softly, but, before he could answer, he started coughing. He used the blanket to cover it until he could catch his breath.

"Hey, hey," Hailey reached over him and rubbed his back, "You're okay, it's okay."

He shook his head and sat up in time to sneeze. With a groan, he bent over and put his head in his hands.

"Stay here," Hailey breathed as she got out of bed.

"Where would I go?" Jay coughed harder.

Hailey squeezed his knee before going downstairs. She busied herself around the kitchen, putting together a plate of soft food she knew he'd like that would feel good against his sore throat.

She was about to go upstairs when she paused and set the food and water bottle down. She reached above the fridge for their medicine stash. He wasn't going to be happy, but she needed to try something.

Jay was still sitting up in bed, muffling his cough into the blanket when Hailey entered their room.

"Hey," she said softly, "How's it going?"

He shook his head and breathed in shakily.

"All right, give me ten minutes then you'll be asleep and everything will be fine," Hailey passed him the food and water so she could measure out the liquid cold medicine in the small cup.

"No," Jay croaked, "I'm not drinking that."

"It'll help your throat and knock you out," Hailey tried to smile at him, "Win/Win situation, right?"

"That's nasty and probably expired," Jay said.

Hailey glanced at the bottle then slowly shook her head, "Nope, doesn't expire until next year." She held out the small cup, "Drink up."

Jay groaned, "Hailey."

She raised an eyebrow, "I will fight you."

Jay sighed, then reached over to grab the medicine. He glared at the purple liquid before tipping it into his mouth, shuddering at the taste.

Hailey bit back her comment to suck it up, so she sat on the bed next to him and took the small cup back. "Can you eat a little now, please?" she asked.

"Sure," Jay cleared his throat and winced at the fire that trailed through him.

"I know, I know," Hailey breathed and ran her hand over his hair, "Just don't talk and eat, okay?"

Jay looked down at the plate of food she'd brought up – a small pile of mac n' cheese, a cup of jello, a stack of cut up cheese, and half a Hershey's bar. He smirked and raised an eyebrow, "This was your healthy meal? What happened to the soup?"

"If you're going to complain, I'm going to take it all back and go downstairs while you suffer on your own," Hailey said, her hand on his arm.

Jay blushed, "Sorry." He quietly started eating, actually grateful that Hailey hadn't picked out anything too rough.

Eventually, most of the food was gone and Hailey was trying not to laugh at the way Jay's eyes were drooping as he sat up.

She gently tugged the empty plate from his hands and guided him down to the pillow.

"No, no, can stay awake," Jay mumbled.

"Don't fight me," Hailey whispered, "I will win."

Jay smiled as he rolled into Hailey and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sleep," Hailey trailed her fingers along the back of his neck and hummed softly until she felt his breathing even out against her throat.

Jay woke to a strange sound. The grogginess fogging his head prevented him from pinpointing it right away, so he focused on what he did not.

He was in his bed.

There were several blankets piled on top of him.

He could smell Vicks vapo-rub but was pretty sure it wasn't on him.

His head was resting on Hailey's thigh.

The crackling, snoring sound was coming from above him.

He slowly rolled off of Hailey and looked up to see her sleeping while sitting up, her head resting back against a pillow wedged between her and the headboard. She had on a tank top that was low enough to show the sticky looking Vicks on her chest.

"Crap," he breathed while sitting up, "Hailey." He coughed then brushed her hair back from her face, "Hailey."

She groaned and licked her lips before opening her eyes, "Why'd you wake me up?"

Jay chuckled, "Sorry. I just…you're sick."

"I know," Hailey closed her eyes again, "Thanks."

"I'm really sorry," Jay said, "What do you need?"

Hailey shrugged and tried getting comfortable again. Jay watched her, just waiting for her to answer which didn't take long because soon enough she was whimpering.

"I can't breathe," she whispered, "My face feels swollen and disgusting."

Jay lightly set his hand on her forehead and took as deep of a breath as he could against the thick feeling in his chest, "I think you have a fever."

Hailey nodded and pointed toward her nightstand where the thermometer was sitting.

Jay reached over her to pick it up, "All right, let's see."

"No point," Hailey sighed and opened her eyes back up, "I'm at 101.3 and you're at 101.9. I checked before I fell asleep."

"You took my temperature while I was sleeping?" Jay asked.

Hailey smirked, "You've been asleep for almost six hours."

Jay's eyes widened, "What?"

"Yeah," Hailey sneezed and nodded, "You fell asleep around three and it's after nine. I've taken it a couple times, just shoved it right in there."

Jay laughed softly and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, "I love you."

Hailey smiled and leaned into him, "Love you too."

"How can I help you?" Jay lightly brushed her hair back.

Hailey shook her head, "I'm fine. Just stuffed up. This is helping," she pointed to the sticky substance on her chest.

Jay sighed, "I feel bad."

"It's okay, I knew this was going to happen," Hailey sneezed and groaned quietly.

Jay coughed softly then settled back down against her leg, "You sure you're comfortable up there?"

"It's good enough," Hailey said.

Jay nodded and softly swirled his finger along her thigh. He lightly traced her name over her sweatpants, humming until his throat closed up quickly causing him to cough again.

Hailey absentmindedly patted his back with her eyes closed. The noise was awful and it hurt her to think of him being in pain. She would have done more for him in the moment had her own face not felt so stuffed up and gross.

In sickness and in health.

She just hated this first part.

Jay stopped flipping the pancakes and leaned against the counter to clear his throat, wincing at the pain that radiated through him before taking a quick drink of orange juice.

Hailey slowly walked into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and the hood of Jay's sweatshirt covering her hair, "You okay?"

Jay shook his head, "I think I'd rather be shot again than deal with this."

"Don't say that," Hailey mumbled while walking over to him. She slipped her hand under his shirt and rubbed small circles between his shoulder blades.

"At least I could be on pain medicine," Jay said.

"You can take pain medicine now," Hailey stepped back to look in their box of medicine she'd decided on just leaving out on the counter for the next few days, "You already took this one?" she held up a box of pills over her shoulder.

Jay glanced at her, "Yeah." He wiped his face then flipped the pancakes onto a plate, "Breakfast is ready."

Hailey dumped three orange pills into her hand, "Give me your hand and take these."

"I don't want to be all drugged up," Jay walked past her to the table.

"Jay, knock it off and take the damn Motrin," Hailey said.

Jay's eyes widened and he slowly turned to face her.

Hailey breathed heavily then blushed and looked down, "Sorry," she rubbed her fist under her nose, "I…sorry."

Jay bit his lip then reached over and took the pills from her hand, quickly swallowing them with his juice.

Hailey blinked her eyes quickly and sniffled, "Sorry."

"Hey," Jay whispered and tugged her to his chest, "It's fine. I was being stupid. Neither one of us is feeling great which means we're both in a bad mood. We're good."

Hailey nodded against his shirt and shakily breathed in before wincing and sneezing.

Jay closed his eyes, knowing she just covered him in snot, and tried not to groan.

"Sorry," Hailey whispered.

Jay stepped back and bit his lip over a smile.

Hailey hesitantly rocked back on her heels, "Yeah?"

"You keep saying 'sorry,'" Jay chuckled, "It's kind of cute."

"Even though I just sneezed all over you?" Hailey started to smile.

Jay laughed and nodded, "Yeah," he coughed into his arm and steadied himself against a chair.

Hailey groaned while rubbing her hands over her face, "Okay, we need to eat. These pancakes look…" she trailed off as she glanced at the table, "Dark."

Jay winced, "I was a little distracted."

"They're not burnt," Hailey sat down, "Thank you."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to eat those?" Jay asked.

Hailey nodded and started serving herself.

Jay took a deep breath before sitting next to her to slowly eat his breakfast.

Hailey struggled to breathe from her spot on the couch, yet at the same time was completely disgusted by the amount of tissues she had been using to keep her face clean.

A harsh cough followed by a sneeze coming from the stairs signaled to her that Jay was coming back down from changing his clothes after breakfast.

She turned and waved at him with a soft laugh, "You're loud."

Jay rolled his eyes and stopped at the edge of the carpet, "Come here."

"What?" Hailey sat up, "I want to watch TV."

"Come on," Jay nodded toward the stairs, "I have something for you."

Hailey groaned, "But…Jay."

"Hailey Anne," Jay said softly, "Trust me."

She sighed, but stood up and slowly followed him to their room, surprised when he opened the bathroom door and a rush of steam flowed out.

"Made you a bath," Jay smiled slightly.

Hailey weakly laughed, "You didn't have to."

Jay shrugged, "Maybe I just want to see you naked."

"Because I look real sexy right now," Hailey laughed harder, sending her into her own coughing fit.

Jay smirked and gently tugged her shirt off of her before helping her slip her pants off, "Mind if I join you?"

Hailey raised an eyebrow while walking into the bathroom, "In the bath?"

"No, definitely not, I hate baths," Jay chuckled, "I was thinking I could just sit here with you."

"You're so lame," Hailey breathed before lowering herself into the steaming water. She moaned in appreciation and closed her eyes.

Jay shut the door and shoved a towel under it to prevent any steam from getting out. He sat next to her and rested his head on his arms along the edge of the tub. He watched her slowly be able to breathe in again as the heat cleared her sinuses. She was relaxed and looked peaceful in the moment despite how sick he knew she felt.

Lightly, he brushed the back of his fingers along her cheek.

Hailey fluttered her eyes open and whispered, "You sure you don't want to join me?"

"Positive," Jay breathed. He cleared his throat as he scooted closer to the tub.

Hailey lifted her hand as if it was made of lead from the hot water, lightly shaking it off before resting it on top of his head and stroking her thumb along his hair.

A single drip of water slid down the side of Jay's face causing him to laugh softly.

Hailey smiled, "I like looking at you."

"What a coincidence, I like looking at you too," Jay closed his eyes.

Hailey laughed, "I can tell."

Jay smirked to himself and slowly breathed out.

Hailey played with the top of his hair for a moment before the cold took over and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open.

She hated being sick and feeling helpless, but with Jay at her side (and feeling just as sick as her), she didn't complete mind.

In sickness and in health.

A/N: If you picked this prompt on Twitter, this one's for you! Thank you heellen for helping me out with this one and encouraging me to keep going :) This might not be my best, but I'm excited about the next one and hope you'll stick around for it!